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> The fallout people keep missing is the loss of tax revenue. Either the direct property tax as values drop to in some cases income taxes shifting to other loca
by vosper 6y ago
> The fallout people keep missing is the loss of tax revenue. Either the direct property tax as values drop to in some cases income taxes shifting to other locales. Throw in the reduction in spending at local associated businesses like restaurants and stores which also results in lower sales tax revenue and eventually staffing. It is quite the cascade effect that will happen.
I think we might see the opposite in some subset of small towns - probably the ones in and around areas of natural beauty, or hot-spots for hobbies like rock climbing or skiing. I'm guessing some places are small enough that it wouldn't take a huge number of well-paid remote elite moving in/nearby to boost local government coffers, and possibly make some businesses viable that weren't before.
- ManBlanket 6y agoGood point. A downturn in the urban center could very well mean a boon for other neighborhoods. I'm imagining a place like Arcata, Ca would become more desirable than living in the Bay Area for a professional, so they move. Sure, it means the coffee shop across the street from their old downtown office closes, and someone in their early 20's cant find work in SF. But then that young person moves back to Arcata. They bring their indie band and contribute to the local culture. Having graduated few years later that young person runs into that same professional from across the street, they get around to talking and find a shoe in the door at that same formerly impenetrable wall of glass on the Bay's skyline. The downfall of the urban center isn't necessarily a bad thing if it means the economic and cultural boons of city life are spread to other wanting communities.